Survivors
by Lady Vai
Summary: Kara is homesick. J'onn knows what that's like.


AN: This is set in JLU, but before Hawkgirl comes back. I have chosen to disregard J'onn's comment in "Question Authority" that he does no dream, due to both the JL episode "Only a Dream" and in the first volume of Sandman by Neil Gaiman.

Disclaimer: I don't own JLU or any characters in it. Did you seriously think that I did?

Kara walked into the commissary and looked around the empty room. She got herself a glass of warm milk and sat near one of the windows overlooking Earth.

She was homesick, plain and simple. Not for Smallville, just a short teleportation away, but for her real home, light years away. At first, Kara had tried talking with Clark about it, but he had come to Earth when he was a baby so he didn't remember the wonders of Krypton.

Sure flying was fun, and being super strong was pretty cool, but she would give it all up (she would gladly give up the heat vision at any time) just to go home.

Hawkgirl had sympathized with her a couple times when Clark had brought the original seven to Smallville a few times, but the Thanagarians did still exist. Shayera was now in exile on Earth from them, and hiding from Earth people due to the invasion, but the situation was still different.

She had just been sleeping when a dream had overcome her. She was at home, and her Mom and Dad were with her. They were eating dinner together, and then they had both hugged her goodnight and she went to her room. When Kara had woken up, she could still remember her Mom's perfume. She had sobbed for a while, and then wandered out into the Watchtower.

The doors to the commissary opened and she looked over. J'onn walked over to her table and sat down. He placed a plate of Chocos between them.

At Kara's inquisitive glance he explained "You were projecting your thoughts quite loudly. I believe that I may be the most suited to understanding your situation."

She gaped at him. Of course! Why hadn't she ever thought of J'onn before? He had a family on Mars, lived there, remembered it, and he was the last.

"Thank you," she said earnestly. "Clark acts like he understands, but all he knows are Ma and Pa in Smallville."

"Clark is the most human alien I have ever encountered," J'onn replied with a small smile. "He approached me after we first met and tried to sympathize. I have never taken him up on the offer, though."

"I just feel like I have to preserve my culture, you know? Clark knows all the facts because of Jor-el, but he never went to the Autumn Festival in Kandor or celebrated Rao on the summer solstice."

"I try to preserve my culture as well. I have found some Earth foods that can resemble Martian food if prepared properly. I have written down a guide to the language, so if anything should happen to me, people could still learn from the wall carvings on Mars. I still pray to the God of Dreams before I sleep."

"Do you ever have dreams about Mars?"

"Almost every night. I tuck my little ones in or I talk with M'yri'ah or even arrest my first criminals when I was younger and still a rookie manhunter. For thousands of years I remembered every moment I had on Mars," he trailed off and looked out the window, at the little red dot that was his home planet.

Kara's eyes watered. His ordeal seemed so much worse than hers.

"Do not diminish your loss compared to mine. You are younger; you did not have to watch your world be destroyed. I would never wish that on someone like you. Your mind is like a candle in the darkness. Your happiness shines through all the bad things in this world." J'onn picked up a Choco and bit it in half, chewing slowly.

Kara placed a hand on his arm. "Then I shall try to be happier. Because Earth can be a pretty unhappy place."

He smiled at her gratefully. "I must return to monitor duty, but should you ever need to talk again, I am always here."

"Thank you, J'onn."

He got up and walked away. Kara took one last look down at the planet beneath them, drank her milk, and ate a Choco. She carefully placed the leftover Chocos in a plastic bag and hid them in a seldom-used cupboard. She thought very hard about the location for a moment, and felt J'onn send a wave of gratitude to her. Then she went to bed, not feeling nearly as alone.


End file.
